B.J. Surhoff - Former Oriole

Greg Amsinger - MLB Network

 

Chris Mannix - SI.com - NBA

 

 

Sports has a way or sorting out debates all by themselves. You and I can have our own opinions, but at the end of the day, it's really going to be determined on the field.

 

For weeks, I've been battling myself over who's the best quarterback of my lifetime. I've been one of the biggest Joe Montana fans around since I was 10, and it's really been difficult for me to put Peyton Manning ahead of him, but Manning has done things that has made me question my own beliefs.

 

On Sunday night, I watched Manning put Montana in his rightful place. Peyton Manning, who is still the second best quarterback I've ever seen, did things that Montana would have never done. There's no debate, "Joe Cool" has been in those situations over and over and twice against the Bengals in the Super Bowl, and he's won both times.

 

For years, we've said that the Colts' offense is Manning's offense, yet Jim Caldwell takes the blame for bad clock management at the end of the first half. That goes to Manning, not Caldwell. There's no way you give Manning credit when things go right, but Caldwell blame when things go bad.

 

The interception that got returned for a touchdown was not the first mistake Manning made on that drive. He threw another bad out route to Reggie Wayne, but he escaped when the pass was dropped by the Saints defender. Manning looked, at times, out of character, during that drive.

 

While the Colts got into the red zone again on the final drive, Manning looked confused on the final two plays, and nearly threw another interception.

 

Again, Peyton Manning is one of the greatest quarterbacks who ever played the game, but he's not the greatest. Others have been in that situation time and time again, and have succeeded. The greats like Montana, Troy Aikman, and Terry Bradshaw. Manning might be better than the last two, but when it mattered, he wasn't.

 

There was a legacy on the line Sunday night, and if Peyton Manning doesn't get back to the "Big Game," you have to wonder what his will be. There's still one of his peers who've won more Super Bowls than Manning. That's what sports does. It sorts all of those things out. Just like it will sort out Mannings legacy. Just like it wouldn't allow Jim Caldwell to be among the coaching greats.

 

Rob Long